Child safety is paramount to most parents and guardians. This is especially true when it comes to vehicle safety. In fact, numerous laws relate to child safety in vehicles. Perhaps the most notable are laws requiring child safety seats to be installed and used for small children. But a problem has developed where otherwise mindful and responsible parents become distracted and ultimately leave their child restrained unattended in a child safety seat of a vehicle. As such, there is a need for an alert mechanism that is seamless to employ and integrated into the internal wiring or computer system of the vehicle.
According to statistics, 15 to 25 children in the United States suffer from “death by hyperthermia” upon being left unattended in a vehicle child safety seat. Thousands of other children have been saved before succumbing when accidentally being left in a child safety seat. This period of time can be relatively short number of minutes to many hours. Studies have shown that most parents involved in such issues are in fact responsible and attentive parents who on that particular day are upset, busy, or otherwise confused or distracted by events that end up changing the normal course of a schedule. This problem was exacerbated by a trend toward mandatory child safety seats beginning in the early 1990s after passenger-side airbags were deemed dangerous to children. Studies describe such parents as mothers and fathers of all races and ethnicities, rich and poor, professional and working class. In 2008, this phenomenon even occurred three times in one day. Despite the guilt and grief associated with such incidents, parents also have been prosecuted. The point is that “death by hyperthermia” is a very real danger that needs a simple and seamless system to help prevent such incidents.
Many cases relating to such incidents do not necessarily occur in the heat of summer. Children restrained in vehicles have succumbed to hyperthermia in many types of weather, to include 60 degrees F. As such, there is a need for a system that offers an automatic alert for situations where the vehicle ignition is turned off and a child safety seat is engaged. In this manner, the system is not overly prominent but rather a regular feature associated with the child safety seat and associated vehicle. In that way, a parent or guardian would only confront the system when the child safety seat is engaged and the ignition is turned off. This is particularly true with an internal and automatic system check relating to the physical components. The present invention solves this need by placing a child safety seat connection into the child safety seat. A wired or wireless conduit connects the child safety seat to the vehicle in such a way that when the ignition is turned off and the child safety seat is engaged, an alert will be emitted through the vehicle speakers. A flashing light on the dashboard, which also can be linked with an existing alert such as no-seatbelt alert, also is envisioned.
The need for the present invention is compounded by the fact that there is not a seamless alert system that can solve the problems associated with the issue of accidentally leaving a child in a car safety seat and the potential for “death by hyperthermia.”
U.S. Pat. No. 7,123,157 issued to Best on Oct. 17, 2006 is a car-seat occupied baby-on-board indicator alarm. Best places a weight sensor on the driver's seat so that when a driver rises from the seat, an alarm will sound. Unlike the present invention, Best requires a special audio alert apparatus and focuses on the driver. In contrast, the present invention integrates the child safety seat directly with the vehicle's sound system in a manner that actual ignition status opens and closes the circuit pertaining to the engagement of the child safety seat. Additional pressure sensing items that also require additional external components and therefore are substantially different from the present invention include U.S. Pat. No. 7,218,218 issued to Rogers on May 15, 2007 and also U.S. Pat. No. 7,140,401 issued to Cole on Jan. 30, 2007.
Other items out there, to include U.S. Pat. No. 7,230,530 issued to Almquist on Jun. 12, 2007 also require additional housing and external audio systems and again do not operate through the ignition status or include the safety check of the present invention. Meanwhile, U.S. Pat. No. 6,870,472 issued to Gift et al on Mar. 22, 2005 integrates motion detecting technology to detect when a child has been left in a vehicle. This, as in the other examples, is vastly different from the present invention, which issues an alert through the vehicle speaker system when the child safety seat is engaged and the ignition is turned off.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,909,365 issued to Toles on Jun. 21, 2005 is a child safety alarm seat and method. Toles issues an alarm for when a child is in a safety seat after the ignition is turned off. Unlike the present invention, Toles is not integrated into the audio system of the vehicle. Toles also requires an actual switch to be turned on and off upon placing a child in a safety seat. Moreover, Toles requires constant power source and more external items to function. The present invention becomes operational through engagement of the child safety seat and does not require that the caregiver actually use a switch. In addition, the present invention is integrated with non-essential outlets, non-essential fuses and/or the vehicle computer system in such a manner that when the ignition is turned off, the internal vehicle makeup will divert a connected signal to the audio system of the vehicle, to include a stereo system, so that the alert is emitted through the existing audio system. In addition, the present invention also provides a system check and diagnostic to ensure that all circuits are functioning properly.
There remains a need for a system of child safety that integrates a child safety seat with the internal wiring and/or computer system of the vehicle. The present invention differs from all other items in this field because it recognizes that a distracted driver may also forget to actually flip a switch or take care to ensure fuses and other components are operating properly. As such, the present invention incorporates a system check and integrates part of the alert process with the existing audio system of the vehicle.